Shane's Blog

Even the $4 trillion “grand bargain” on debt reduction hammered out by President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio)—a deal that collapsed nearly as quickly as it came together—would not have gotten the U.S. where it needs to be. A June analysis by the Congressional Budget Office concluded that keeping the U.S.’s ratio of debt to gross domestic product at current levels until the year 2085 (to avoid scaring off investors) would require spending cuts, tax hikes, or a combination of both equal to 8.3 percent of GDP each year for the next 75 years, vs. the most likely (i.e. “alternative”) scenario. That translates to $15 trillion over the next decade—or more than three times what Obama and Boehner were considering.

You start to see why, absent signs of a serious commitment to deficit reduction, the rating services are warning they may downgrade the federal government’s triple-A rating even if Congress does meet the Aug. 2 deadline. Fortunately, our debt hole is escapable. But digging out requires that leaders of both parties come to terms with just how deep it is.

The Colts have Peyton Manning in the fold for five more years.

Manning, the Colts’ franchise quarterback since 1998, has agreed to a five-year, $90 million contract, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen is reporting.

Colts owner Jim Irsay has said that Manning deserves to be the highest-paid player in the league, but Manning said he was willing to take less than the Colts were offering if it meant they’d have more salary cap space for some of his teammates. Mortensen reports that Irsay was willing to go up to $100 million over five years.

For the second year in a row, South by Southwest Interactive Festival registration prices have increased sharply in comparison with the rest of the fest.

For 2012, early-bird registration, which ends on Sept. 23, has risen from last year’s $450 to $595, an increase of about 32 percent. Walk-up rates for SXSW Interactive — the price attendees will pay for a festival badge after Feb. 10 — rose $200, from $750 to $950, a nearly 27 percent increase over 2011 rates.

The rate increase reflects the Interactive Festival’s increasing stature in the tech industry and its rapid growth. For the 2011 festival, which was held in Austin in March, paid attendance for interactive was officially 19,364, up from last year’s 14,251. That number included gold and platinum badge holders who had access to SXSW Interactive.

SXSW Interactive 2012 runs March 9-13.